Knitting needle and pick-up pin combination



1957 5. A. CARLSON 2,807,945

KNITTING NEEDLE AND PICK-UP PIN COMBINATIQN Filed Jan. 26, 1956 III %WQ%VENTORI Y & J' ATTORNE ywd,

United States Patent O W 2,807,945 KNITTING NEEDLE AND PICK-UP PIN COMBINATION Gustav A. Carlson, Des Plaines, Ill., assignor to The fiiryeNeedle Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Application January 26, 1956, Serial No. 561,449

2 Claims. (Cl. 66-117) This invention relates to a knitting needle and pick-up pin combination, and more particularly to a knitting needle or pin equipped with a pick-up pin housed within the head portion of the knitting needle.

In the operation of a knitting needle, or like implement, stitches are dropped from time to time and it is necessary to pick up such stitches with a hook. For speed of operation, it is desired to house the pick-up pin or needle Within the knitting pin itself, the arrangement being such that a minimum of time is lost in withdrawing the pick-up hook and returning it to a position in which the hook portion thereof is sheathed within the needle. At the same time, it is desired to have the pick-up pin or hook entirely out of the way during the ordinary knitting operation, and avoiding any looseness of parts in the needle, rattling of the parts, etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide a combination needle and pin hook structure which will avoid the above undesired results while at the same time providing a conveniently stored pick-up needle which may be readily withdrawn and used with a minimum of effort, while also being returned to a sheathed position in which it is firmly held against rattling or other movement. A further object is to provide a knitting pin which is employed for sheathing the hook portion of a pick-up pin while at the same time requiring nothing more than a straight drawing of the pick-up pin when it is desired to remove it from the knitting needle, Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my needle and pick-up pin combination; Fig. 2, an enlarged broken sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an enlarged part-sectional view showing the pick-up pin removed from the sheathing portion of the knitting needle; Fig. 4, a plan sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a transverse sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 55 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a sectional detail view, the section being taken as indicated at line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

In the illustration given, the knitting pin or needle 10 is provided at its upper end with a longitudinal recess or passage 11, and is equipped at its top with a flange-equipped head 12. The head 12 is centrally apertured in line with the vertical channel 11, and, if desired, the sleeve of the head 12 may be indented at 13 to lock the head upon the needle shank 10.

A pick-up pin 14 is provided at its bottom with a hook 15 and at its top with a threaded handle or knob 16, which 2,807,945 Patented Oct. 1, 1957 may be knurled for convenient handling. I prefer to equip the knob 16 with a reduced lower portion 17 providing a space between the knurled portion of the knob 16 and the top of the needle head 12 so that the knob may be readily grasped to remove the needle from the channel 11 of the knitting pin.

I have found that excellent results can be obtained by slightly bending the shank 14 of the pick-up pin, as illustrated best in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the central bowed portion of the pin will strike one interior Wall surface of the knitting pin while the upper and lower portions of the pin 14 also engage the inner wall of the needle 10. A frictional engagement is thus provided which holds the pick-up pin 14 tightly within the channel 11 so that during the operation of the knitting needle there is no rattling or moving of the pick-up pin and, in effect, the pick-up pin operates as an integral part of the knitting needle. On the other hand, when it is desired to withdraw the pick-up pin and use it for catching dropped stitches, this may be readily done by drawing the knob 16 outwardly to free the pin 14 from engagement with the channel 11 of the knitting pin. After the pick-up of the stitches is accomplished, the pin 14 may be readily thrust into the sheathed position shown in Fig. 2.

By employing a hook portion 15 of reduced diameter, I find that the insertion and removal of the pin does not injure the hooked beak of the pick-up pin 14, and, even if wear should occur, the wear is in line with the main body of the beak so that the hook of the beak remains intact for continued use.

With the foregoing structure, a minimum of care is required. The pick-up needle 14 may be inserted in any angular position and similarly withdrawn in any angular position, while at the same time the frictional engagement described keeps the pin tightly in its sheathed position so that the knitting operation is not disturbed by any tilting or rattling of the pinl While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a knitting needle having a head at its outer end and a longitudinal passage extending through said head and the top portion of said needle, a pick-up pin having a bowed shank frictionally engaging the interior of said needle passage and provided at its lower end with a hook and at its upper end with a handle knob, whereby said pick-up needle is firmly supported within said needle passage by reason of said friction but which may be withdrawn from said passage by drawing said handle knob outwardly.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said handle knob is provided at its lower end with a reduced portion extending above the pin head to provide an annular recess there-above.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,720,095 Ernst Oct. 11, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 170,553 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1922 

